


Of rusted and broken locks, slowly

by kimpotato



Category: NU'EST
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24663580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimpotato/pseuds/kimpotato
Summary: Jonghyun has always had a simple life, until an unexpected package landed at his doorstep.
Relationships: Kim Jonghyun | JR & Nu'est Ensemble, Kim Jonghyun | JR/Kim Minkyung | Roa
Comments: 16
Kudos: 28





	1. The Simple Life

**Author's Note:**

> Title lifted from "The Simple Life" by Sherwood.

_“Someday, you and me, we will change the world.”_

_The baby in Jonghyun’s arms cooed, as if she had understood his guardian’s words. Jonghyun smiled at her, affection written in his starry, starry eyes._

_The baby’s next giggle, however, wiped the smile off Jonghyun’s lips. He sighed._

_“But for now, let’s change your diaper first.”_

***

When Jonghyun came home from work one Friday evening, at the tail end of summer, he never imagined his life would do a 180-degree the second he reached his front door. And it wasn’t because Minkyung had finally replied to his message ( _I’m free tomorrow night, Jonghyun-ssi. And yes, I’d love to watch a movie with you._ ). Nor was it because Mingi had his bags already packed in the living room, ready to move out the next day (“I’ll be moving two doors down, J-Rie. There’s no need for a send-off party, you know.”)

It was because there, waiting for him, was a gift basket, complete with a red ribbon around the handle and a small envelope on top of its lid. 

Jonghyun knelt down and picked up the envelope, pulling out the small note inside.

_Please take care of Xiyeon._

The note was typewritten and unsigned. Jonghyun blinked, wondering if one of his friends had played another prank on him. He wouldn’t put it past Aaron or Dongho to pull off something like this, after all.

Sighing, Jonghyun gently lifted the lid, exasperatedly murmuring, “I swear, if Xiyeon is another gerbil I’m going to . . .” 

Jonghyun never finished the rest of his sentence. He blinked, and blinked, and blinked again, as if by doing so, the sleeping baby in the basket would miraculously disappear.

***

Jonghyun found himself surrounded by his best friends thirty minutes later, except that they weren’t really looking at him, but at the little bundle of joy in his arms. He had just managed to put Xiyeon back to sleep, after feeding her milk that he’d found at the base of the basket, together with a few baby’s clothes and other accessories. 

Mingi was sitting directly to Jonghyun’s right, eyeing the child curiously, as if wanting to pet her but fearing she’d wake up if he did. To Jonghyun’s left sat Minhyun, quietly fanning both the child and his friend, who was now sweating bullets down his neck. And standing in front of them were Aaron and Dongho, who both vehemently denied having to do anything with Jonghyun’s current predicament.

“You’re giving us way too much credit, Jonghyun-ah,” Aaron had told him when he accused them of punking him, the second they entered the front door.

“Where would we even get a baby to prank you with anyway?” Dongho had snorted, then panicked when baby Xiyeon suddenly wailed when he tried to poke her cheek.

Now all five friends stared at the sleeping child, unsure of what to do.

“We could bring her to child services,” Aaron suggested, because it was, of course, the most logical thing to say.

“But what if the parent suddenly comes back for her?” Minhyun asked worriedly, gently dabbing Jonghyun’s perspiring forehead with a tissue.

“What kind of parent would leave their child at some stranger’s doorstep in the first place?” Mingi bristled.

“Maybe they were left with no choice,” Dongho deduced, shrugging when Mingi glared at him from where he was seated.

Jonghyun remained quiet, eyes focused on the baby in his arms. Xiyeon hiccuped in her sleep, and all five hearts melted at the sound.

“What are you planning to do, Jjuya?” Minhyun gently asked.

Jonghyun looked up and found four pairs of eyes staring, waiting. He took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’ll take her to child services tomorrow,” he answered. “But for now . . .” He turned back to the sleeping baby, his lips forming a soft smile. “For now, I’ll take care of her.”

**End of Part 1**


	2. Wrapped Around Your Finger

Jonghyun was used to getting less than five hours of sleep on a weekend. Although he didn’t really go out that much, he’d spend hours playing video games, sometimes with Mingi, sometimes with his other game buddy, Taeyong. 

What he wasn’t used to was getting less than five hours of sleep because he had to attend to the needs of a baby girl.

His other friends tried to help at first—Dongho and Minhyun even volunteered to stay the night (Aaron had to leave after 9 PM because he, too, had kids waiting at home—two shiba inu that needed to be fed and taken for a night stroll). Even Mingi, whom everyone considered a baby himself, tried his best, distracting Xiyeon with a sweet song while Jonghyun prepared her milk.

Except that Dongho gave up because Xiyeon would wail whenever he tried to come within five feet of her, and Minhyun begged off because something in Xiyeon’s clothes made his allergies act up badly. Jonghyun then sent Mingi to his room, after the maknae had fallen asleep beside Xiyeon as he tried to read her a bedtime story from his phone.

In the end, taking care of Xiyeon fell solely on Jonghyun’s shoulders. As he held the sleeping baby in his arms, he found himself thinking of his own mother, of her sacrifices and possible sufferings as she took care of him as a child.

Jonghyun promised himself he’d call his mother the next day, right after he had brought Xiyeon to the orphanage so the baby could get the proper care that she needed.

***

“I already love her with all my heart,” Mingi cried over breakfast, as the five friends discussed their predicament. “I am willing to be co-guardian, J-Rie. We can take turns taking care of her. Just bring her over to my unit every other week.”

“It will be hard to take care of her,” Dongho reasoned out while stabbing a sausage with his fork. “This isn’t the same as taking care of a pet.”

“I thought Jonghyunie has decided to bring her to child services today?” Aaron asked over the phone, as one of his dogs, Noah, barked in the background.

“What are you planning to do, Jjuya?” Minhyun asked, an echo of his question the previous night.

Jonghyun turned to Xiyeon, sleeping quietly on the couch, two pillows serving as a mini-fort to make sure she wouldn’t fall off. He smiled gently at the sight. “Do what’s best for her, of course.”

***

“Almost there,” Jonghyun murmured softly to Xiyeon as he walked toward the small orphanage near his house. “Don’t worry, the nuns running the place are good people.”

Baby Xiyeon yawned and blinked sleepy eyes up at him. Jonghyun felt his chest constrict, and he wondered, not for the first time since that morning, if he was making the right choice. Dongho was right—he has zero experience in taking care of a baby, and winging it would be difficult, especially since he has a nine-to-six desk job on weekdays. 

So why did his heart feel so heavy?

“I’m doing the right thing,” he muttered under his breath, just as he turned the corner and stopped in front of the gated compound. The orphanage looked welcoming enough, unlike the dreary orphanages in those old movies he had watched as a kid. Surely Xiyeon would be in good hands there. 

As Jonghyun moved one hand to press the doorbell, Xiyeon grabbed his finger back and started making happy garbled noises. 

“Goo gaa gyaaa!”

Jonghyun stood frozen on the spot as baby Xiyeon tried to stick his finger into her mouth, then let out a full-belly laugh when he tried to pull his hand away.

“Buh buh buh,” Xiyeon continued, smiling the most charming smile Jonghyun had ever seen a baby make.

Jonghyun felt his eyes moist over, as he wiggled his index finger and gently tickled Xiyeon’s belly. The baby squealed in delight and tried to grab his hand again.

“You want to stay with me, is that it?” he whispered, although he knew Xiyeon couldn’t possibly understand what he had just said.

Still, Jonghyun’s heart soared when Xiyeon answered him with a content sigh, and then wrapped her fingers around his bigger pinkie.

Jonghyun couldn’t possibly have guessed that by doing so, Xiyeon had, in her precious innocence, managed to wrap Jonghyun around _her_ tiny finger.

**End of Part 2**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toss me a line at [CC](https://curiouscat.me/KimPotatoBugi) or follow me at [KP's Corner](https://twitter.com/thelittlebugi) if you feel like it!
> 
> Thank you, M, for the quick beta!


	3. Interlude #1: Take My Breath Away (Minkyung)

Minkyung had always admired Jonghyun since Day One. Not romantically at first—that would come much, much later. 

What she liked most about him was his humility, the way he would politely bow even at their hoobaes, even when he didn’t need to. He was also hardworking, often going out of his way to help with other tasks, even if it meant going up their floor to bring reports or chat with her teammates (she later found out that it was partially because he wanted to see and hopefully speak with her, that sneaky timid boy).

They were hired at the same publishing firm, reported for work on the same day, she to editorial and he to tech support. Eight months later, Jonghyun _finally_ asked her out. Shyly peeking into her cubicle, he quietly asked, “Minkyung-ssi, would you like to watch a movie this weekend?” and then quickly told her to think about it first and maybe just text him her answer later. 

Minkyung wouldn’t have said no even if she had prior plans that Saturday. After all, by then she was already crushing on him, hard.

When the weekend finally rolled in, it was all Minkyung could do to keep herself still. She went to COEX early, did a bit of window shopping, and then headed toward the mall’s huge library, where she was expected to meet up with her date. 

What she didn’t expect was to find Jonghyun with a baby as he waited for her there.

“I’m so sorry, Minkyung-ssi,” Jonghyun apologized, bowing at almost a 90-degree angle while supporting the baby’s neck. “Mingie was supposed to be here half an hour ago to pick up Xiyeonie but he got caught up in traffic.”

Minkyung blinked at the baby in Jonghyun’s arms. Four years in university and two years in another publishing firm had failed to prepare her for this scenario. It didn’t help that she had zero experience with kids—she was an only child, and she didn’t exactly have any younger cousins to dote on.

“You’re babysitting?” she asked carefully, not wanting to offend or cross any lines she shouldn’t cross.

Jonghyun flashed her a small smile, half-embarrassed, half-distressed. “It’s a bit more complicated than that, but yeah.”

Minkyung nodded, taking a tentative step forward. The baby stared at her curiously, as if trying to decide if she was friend or foe.

“Her name’s Xiyeon?” Minkyung asked, bending her knees a bit so she could be eye level with the child. When Jonghyun made a soft hum of affirmation, Minkyung extended one of her index fingers in an act of mini-handshake. “Nice to meet you, Xiyeon-ah,” she smiled. “I’m Minkyung.”

The baby giggled, grabbed hold of Minkyung’s finger, and tried to put it in her mouth. Minkyung made a small yelp of surprise, pleased that her gesture of friendship was so easily accepted.

“She’s beautiful,” she cooed, looking up to smile at Jonghyun, only to find him smiling softly down at her.

“You both are,” he answered. 

Minkyung was sure her cheeks had suddenly flared bright red. She coughed quietly, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Should we get some food then?” she asked. 

“Mingie said he’ll be here in fifteen minutes,” Jonghyun replied, sounding apologetic again. “I’m really sorry.”

Minkyung tickled Xiyeon’s belly, causing the baby to squeal in delight. “I don’t know what you’re apologizing for,” she grinned. “Can’t we eat if Xiyeonie’s with us?”

Jonghyun blinked. “You . . . don’t mind?”

“Of course not,” she smiled. “Why would I?”

When Jonghyun’s face shifted from worry to relief, Minkyung felt her heart do a double flip in her chest. _Damn him,_ she chuckled to herself as they walked side by side, Xiyeon babbling incoherently at them. _I think I just fell in love._

  
**End of Interlude #1**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, M!


	4. Over My Head

Bringing Xiyeon to the office was something Jonghyun didn’t plan on, but he was left with little choice. With all of his friends busy with their own responsibilities, no one could really spare the time to babysit the child.

Jonghyun figured, too, that this was his burden to bear, since it was he who had decided not to push through with the plan of leaving Xiyeon in the orphanage.

It wasn’t as bad as he had expected, arriving with Xiyeon in the office. Minkyung, bless her beautiful soul, must have already alerted some of their workmates—they cooed and doted on Xiyeon, sure, but nobody questioned Jonghyun on where the baby came from.

***

“Morning, bro,” Taeyong greeted Jonghyun as soon as he made it to his work station. If his table looked neater than usual, Jonghyun pretended not to notice. He suspected that, again, Minkyung must have done a bit of tidying up, in preparation for baby Xiyeon’s arrival.

“Not that I’m complaining, Taeyong mock-sniffed, “but I can't believe you told Minkyung-ssi before you told me.”

Jonghyun smiled tiredly, not because he didn't appreciate his friend’s teasing, but because he was _literally_ tired. He had spend the whole weekend attending to Xiyeon’s needs, and he had barely slept a wink.

What made him think he was qualified to be an impromptu dad again?

“Sorry,” he mumbled, gently setting down Xiyeon in her basket. As soon as he’s sure the baby wouldn't throw a fit, Jonghyun heaved a sigh of relief and buried his head in his arms. He could feel Taeyong’s eyes on him, but he simply didn’t have the energy to spare for their usual banter.

“Out with it,” he muttered, head still down.

“You look like death warmed over,” Taeyong said sympathetically.

Jonghyun grimaced. “I don't know how my parents did this three times,” he confessed.

Taeyong patted him kindly on the back. “I don’t know the details, and all Minkyung-ssi said is that you're babysitting for someone. But don’t you think you’re a bit over your head here? Do you even have any experience taking care of a baby?”

“I’m the maknae in our family,” Jonghyun mumbled in response.

“I guess that’s a no then, huh?”

Jonghyun shook his head, and then promptly looked up when he heard Xiyeon whimper in her basket.

“There, there,” he soothed, rubbing his index finger against Xiyeon’s arm to try and calm her down. Xiyeon whimpered some more, and then belted out a full-blown wail.

“Shh, shhh,” Jonghyun whispered, picking up the baby and holding her in his arms. “You hungry? Is that it?”

Xiyeon only cried harder, and somewhere deep inside, Jonghyun fought off the urge to cry, too.

“Oh dear,” a female voice rang from the adjacent work station. Seconds later and their sunbae Raina popped in, arms automatically reaching for the baby.

Jonghyun was all too willing to relinquish his hold, gently depositing Xiyeon in Raina’s arms. The baby sobbed, and then gently settled down after the older woman started humming a soft lullaby.

“Thank you,” Jonghyun whispered, flopping back down his chair.

“I think she’s restless because she’s in a new place,” Raina commented as she slowly rocked Xiyeon in her arms. “Why couldn’t she stay with her parents again?”

Jonghyun knew Raina meant nothing by it, but he still couldn’t help but turn pale at the question. It didn’t help that Taeyong was now also looking at him curiously, as if waiting for his answer.

“. . . they’re currently unavailable.”

Raina raised an eyebrow. “Well,” she said, “they better make themselves available soon. No offense, Jonghyun-ah. I know you’re a responsible person, but it’s not good for babies to spend too much time away from their parents.”

Jonghyun offered his sunbae a watery smile but said nothing more on the matter.

**End of Part 3**


	5. Interlude #2: Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner (Taeyong)

Taeyong liked kids. He was good with them, being the oldest of twenty-three cousins. He knew how to dote on them, how to discipline them when they’re throwing unnecessary tantrums, how to comfort them when they’re feeling restless.

That was why he volunteered to look after Xiyeon for a bit, as Jonghyun was called into an administrative meeting with the HR and COO.

“She’ll be fine,” he assured his friend, shooing him away. “See you at lunch.”

With one final reluctant glance, Jonghyun offered Taeyong a grateful smile, and then hurried out the department room.

It took Xiyeon exactly ten seconds to realize that her guardian had left before she wailed as loudly as her little lungs would allow.

“Need help?” Raina called out from the other cubicle.

Taeyong already had Xiyeon in his arms before he answered. “It’s okay, Sunbae. I’ll take her to the pantry for a bit. You need to finish that report, right?”

Raina hummed and moments later Taeyong heard the click-clacking of her keyboard. He smiled at Xiyeon, made googly eyes, in an attempt to calm her down.

“Jonghyunie needs to be a responsible adult right now, Xiyeon-ah,” he cooed as he walked toward the pantry. “You’ll be a good girl until he comes back, right?”

Xiyeon sniffled, babbled, and then raised her tiny hand to grab Tayeong’s nose.

***

“Babysitting duties?” Minkyung grinned as she opened her arms to collect Xiyeon from Taeyong. They met in the pantry by accident, Minkyung placing her mug of herbal tea on the counter in favor of playing with Jonghyun’s ward for a bit.

“Not the first time,” Taeyong chuckled, pleased to see how comfortable Xiyeon was with his officemate. “She likes you.”

“Definitely my first time,” Minkyung laughed. “Where’s Jonghyun-ssi?”

Taeyong’s eyes twinkled. “Miss him already?” he teased, to which Minkyung merely answered by blowing him a raspberry.

“Meeting with the bosses.”

“Ah, figures.”

Taeyong snorted, and then retrieved Xiyeon from Minkyung’s arms. “I’ll let you go back to your manuscripts now.”

Minkyung rolled her eyes and picked up her mug. “Yay,” she mock-whined as she walked out the pantry, but not before giving Xiyeon one final belly tickle.

“Bu-bu-bu,” Xiyeon called after Minkyung when the latter had gone.

“We’ll see them both during lunch, okay?” Taeyong assured his charge, as he made his way back to the work station he shared with Jonghyun.

“She’s calmed down?” Raina paused in her report long enough to check. “You _are_ good with kids.”

Taeyong beamed at the compliment and set Xiyeon down on his desk. “Xiyeonie’s an angel compared to my cousins,” he laughed, just as his office phone rang.

“IT Department,” he answered, keeping one eye on Xiyeon, watching her slowly make her way to the other end of the table. “Uh-huh . . . okay. Uh-huh,” he mumbled, blindly reaching out for Xiyeon as the baby disappeared from his view. “I’ll go check it now, just give me a . . .”

And then he was diving, dropping the phone, accidentally elbowing his tumbler and half the items on his desk, all in time to catch Xiyeon from falling head-first on the floor.

**End of Interlude #2**


	6. Mistakes We Knew We Were Making

“Calm down, Jonghyun-ah.”

Jonghyun tried, he really did, but not even Aaron’s calming, reliable presence could make him stop pacing the Emergency Room.

“Why isn’t anyone attending to us?” he asked, frantic. “Aren’t there any available doctors around?”

“Sit down, Jonghyun-ah,” Aaron coaxed him, even dragging him to a nearby empty chair in the waiting area. “The nurse said a doctor will be along shortly.”

“But what’s taking them so long?”

“It’s literally been two minutes.”

Jonghyun took a deep breath and finally followed his hyung’s instructions. He sat on the chair, tenderly cradling a sleeping Xiyeon in his arms.

When Taeyong had broken the news to him one hour ago, Jonghyun lost all composure and immediately checked for invisible bumps and bruises on his charge.

“Why didn’t you call me sooner?” he had asked. He wasn’t angry with Taeyong; he was, however, upset with himself, for thinking it was okay to let Xiyeon leave his sight.

“She’s fine,” Taeyong had tried to reason with him. “She cried for a bit but she’s perfectly okay now.”

“I’m bringing her to the hospital.”

“What?” Taeyong had frowned. “That’s not necessary . . .”

But Jonghyun was already reaching for his phone, dialling Aaron’s number, whose office was only two blocks from the publishing house.

“Hyung, can you skip work and drive me to the hospital?” he had asked when Aaron answered his call. “It’s an emergency.”

No amount of convincing from Taeyong or Minkyung or Raina could make Jonghyun change his mind. He was already waiting at the lobby when Aaron’s car pulled in, and he pleaded with his hyung to step on the gas the second he got into the car.

Aron didn’t try to stop him from going to the hospital, something Jonghyun was eternally grateful for. He, however, told Jonghyun that he needed to calm down, because worrying would only make Xiyeon ansty and more prone to throwing a fit.

“Kim Jonghyun-ssi?” a doctor in a lab coat made her way toward them, a medical folder in her hand.

“Yes,” Jonghyun stood up quickly.

“I’m Dr. Im Jin-ah,” the doctor introduced herself. “May I ask what happened?”

Jonghyun narrated what Taeyong had told him earlier — how Xiyeon had crawled across the table, almost fell on the floor, had Taeyong not managed to grab hold of one of her legs. Xiyeon had cried loudly then, but then calmed down after a while.

Dr. Im nodded and gently touched Xiyeon’s head. “So she didn’t hit the floor?”

“Well, no, but . . .” Jonghyun started, and then started to stammer as the doctor directed them to an available examination room.

The examination took less than five minutes. “She seems perfectly fine,” Dr. Im announced.

“Aren’t you going to run a CT scan or an X-Ray to make sure?” Jonghyun suggested.

The doctor shook her head. “We highly advise against running scans on very young children,” she explained. “Studies have shown that exposures to high levels of radiation raises the chances of children developing cancer later on.”

“But . . .” Jonghyun looked worriedly at the sleeping Xiyeon. “What should I do?”

Dr. Im smiled kindly. “The best thing we can do right now is to observe her,” she told him. “You can schedule a routine checkup with your pedia this week if you want to make sure.”

Jonghyun chose not to mention to the good doctor that Xiyeon didn’t have a pedia, or that he only had her for less than a week.

“We’ll do that,” Aaron answered for him, seeing that Jonghyun was at a loss for words. “Thank you for your time, Doctor.”

***

“Did I overreact, Hyung?” Jonghyun asked weakly as they stood in front of his unit. He had been mostly quiet on the drive home, responding to Aaron’s attempts at conversation only with quiet grunts and mumbles.

Aaron hummed as he keyed in Jonghyun’s passcode at the door. “I don’t blame you,” he assured him. “I have two shiba at home and I overworry about them sometimes, too.”

Jonghyun sighed. “Thanks for being here, Hyung.”

“What you say I cook dinner, huh?” Aaron offered as he pushed open the door. “You can just focus on taking care of Xiyeonie for now.”

Jonghyun offered Aaron a grateful smile. But as they both walked inside, Jonghyun frowned when he saw that the lights were turned on in the living room and that there were two extra pairs of shoes on the shoe rack.

“Who . . .”

“Welcome home, Hyunie.”

Jonghyun stopped dead on his tracks. In the middle of the living room stood Dongho, looking defiantly (but also a bit guiltily) at him. But what really caught Jonghyun’s attention was the person standing beside his friend.

“Eomma.”

**End of Part 4**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emergency Room scene is based on true-to-life events. No, I did not almost drop a baby and then rushed her to the hospital. However, the couple beside our examination room did. And yes, that's what the pedia told them when they asked for a CT scan for their baby. And no, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but they were literally just /there/.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Click [here](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5oubizV1UcjaJHVLNbujpJ) for the playlist!


End file.
